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Royal Highland success for far north family


By Will Clark

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Brothers Kenneth and Stephen Sutherland with their Royal Highland commercial champions, along with Johnnie Campbell, of Bardnaclavan Farm, by Thurso.
Brothers Kenneth and Stephen Sutherland with their Royal Highland commercial champions, along with Johnnie Campbell, of Bardnaclavan Farm, by Thurso.

A CAITHNESS farm family added to their long roll of honours in the show circuit when they last weekend captured one of the breed championships for the first time in over a decade at Scotland’s biggest agricultural show.

Kenneth Sutherland and his two sons Kenneth and Stephen, of Sibmister and Stainland Farms, near Thurso, were in celebratory mood when their two-crop Texel cross half bred ewe with two Texel cross lambs at foot won the commercial title at the Royal Highland Show.

The ewe was champion sheep at the Latheron Show three years ago and impressed judges at the four-day event.

The family have been competing in the show for more than 40 years and has picked up five breed titles in the past but this marked their best achievement at the event in over 10 years.

Stephen (37), who has worked on the family farm since he left school, was delighted with the award but said they were weighing up their options regarding the ewe competing again this season.

“We are currently in discussions whether we will enter the ewe at other shows, but nothing has been decided,” he said.

“This has been the fifth time we have won a breed championship at the RHS, but we have not won in recent years.

“This summer we plan to enter sheep into shows at both Latheron and the Caithness shows but are also considering Black Isle and Nairn.”

The farm had four entries at the RHS sheep competition and recorded wins in each of the classes. Andrew Campbell, of Mill House, Stainland, meanwhile picked up the reserve North Country Cheviot Hill title with a gimmer, by an Inkstack sire and out of a home-bred ewe.


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